Apple Fritter (character)
Apple Fritter is a female Pony living in Equestria in 2525. She's the cousin of Applejack. Fritter was considered one of the common members of the Apple Clan leading up to the Conversion. Once the aliens attacked and XCOM was set up, she had a different opinion on the sudden appearance of the Brits. While most of her family saw them as invaders and criminals, she saw XCOM as a chance to really make a difference in the world and signed up, against the better judgement of her family. She became the fourth Pony to join XCOM (after Fielde, Central and Vladimir). Apple Fritter was switched to humanoid form by Magic that Fielde had recently acquired, allowing her to properly wield firearms and fight off the aliens attacking Equestria. Despite her uniform of XCOM's armour, she always wore her Stetson. She became XCOM's first ever "Gunslinger" class, wielding a high-power Revolver which would later be upgraded to a Cycler Pistol and a Reflex Magnum. Each fit her aptitude for weapons perfectly as she was able to loose both slow, concentrated shots and rapid inaccurate shots of up to six at a time. She also had the unique ability she called "Deadeye" which allowed her to quickly fire at six separate targets for massive damage, or fire at the same target multiple times to ensure a takedown. As the first of the Apple Clan to join XCOM and one of the best soldiers the project ever had, she became fairly famous in her plight against the aliens. Where others saw heroism and good, her family saw cruelty and evil as she mowed down hordes of aliens alongside her comrades. She was quickly promoted to Colonel. Apple Fritter took part in the Temple Ship assault mission dubbed "Operation: Avenger" and survived the mission with a serious injury consisting of a Plasma burn to her lower abdomen due to a Muton firing at her. She was extracted when the Angelis Elder and the EXALT Commander used their Psionic powers to quickly teleport the XCOM forces down onto the ground below the ship, and she witnessed the ship rise up and explode when the EXALT Commander gave his life. XCOM remained active to take care of rogue alien forces following the close of the Dimensional War, meaning Apple Fritter was always on-call. However unlike most of XCOM's forces she did not return home as her family had disowned and chastised her for her "mistakes" in the project. One of the Apple Clan, Apple Bloom, looked up to Fritter as a hero as the only Apple Clan member to join XCOM, becoming distant from her brother and sister to be with the would-be hero. While Apple Fritter appreciated the praise Apple Bloom gave her, the soldier always feared for the life of the then-teenager. While confident the young Apple could take care of herself, she was afraid aliens or terrorists would attack XCOM and put her in harm's way. When Fielde, Central and Ivan disappeared into the Mirror (beginning the Enemy Reborn campaign), Apple Fritter was left no choice but to joint-lead the project alongside Bloodhardt, as the only two XCOM operatives to be a part of Operation: Avenger still present. Operations barely changed in the Commander's absence, but the project began to suffer with less manpower and cruder leadership. Upon Fielde's return, XCOM once again thrived until one fateful day when the countdown began. As a part of XCOM, Fritter had a seven-day notice before the Last Lights were set to strike. She spent these last days in Apple Loosa, now buried underground due to the Tectonic Bomb, to try and create a new life for herself. However she was met with hate and disgust, nearly being hanged for her actions against Equestria. Apple Bloom came to her side, persuading the others to leave Fritter alone and forgive her, as she already had the blood of hundreds on her hands. The two started new lives in the buried town as the world above was destroyed by nuclear fire. The worst to happen to the sand-veiled town was a small amount of radiation exposure near the centre of the settlement due to the nuclear bombs. The town itself was left untouched save for a few weak tremors as the world shook. Knowing all she had elsewhere was gone, Apple Fritter began to show signs of depression. She was saved from a spiral of sorrow by a stallion who had no negative feelings about her past, and the two became fast friends. Friends became lovers. Lovers became parents. Apple Bloom and Apple Fritter still lived together once Apple Dust, Fritter's son, was born, while the father died of radiation poisoning two days before the baby was born. Apple Fritter died of Endeavour mere weeks after the birth of Dust, and as she was pregnant while infected with Stage 1 Endeavour, Dust was born immune. This immunity passed down through the generations. Apple Fritter is the ancestor of Apple Bramley, explaining his aptitude for revolver-based weaponry and why he has Fritter's unique ability "Deadeye." Bramley, immune to Endeavour, was also useful in the Institute's experiments.